Monday, October 27, 2008

Jenna v. Elizabeth

I'm watching a documentary on the Windsors on PBS. It's a glowing portrait with nary a negative word -- one of those classic admiration fests. But still I was struck during the footage on WWII that then Princess Elizabeth volunteered for the Ambulance Corps. She may not have done much beyond attempt to change a tire for the benefit of the cameras, but she donned the scratchy uniform and gave the feeling that they were all in the fray together -- from the palace to the trenches.

It made me wonder why we'd never seen a Bush daughter doing something similar during our many years fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The United States has lost a sense of common purpose and sacrifice for the greater good. It was both dishonest and dishonorable for President Bush to have taken the nation to war without asking everyone to sacrifce. While bullets flew in the desert it was tax cuts on the home front. IEDs ripped through Humvees while Americans cruised happily to the mall in their SUVs.

We have been a divided nation for too long. While the war should never have been started, once the tanks were rolling there should have been a concerted effort to bring people together through sacrifice. It is yet another opportunity missed by this administration.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Free Christopher Buckley!

I'm fascinated by the ouster of Christopher Buckley from the National Review. I know Christopher a bit and he's a smart, funny guy. He certainly is capable of making up his own mind and is more than articulate.

The part that amazes/outrages me is that he had to offer his resignation, and that it was accepted, because he expressed his own opinion. He looked at two candidates and picked one. Isn't that what America is all about?

Granted, the first amendment was an amendment. It's a bit like the leather package you pick for a car -- it wasn't on the original spec sheet but you chose it and it came with the car. Freedom of speech means that speaking your mind shouldn't get you pushed out the door.

Peggy Noonan was also in the firing line after her "Failin' Palin" column in the Wall Street Journal. Peggy didn't go so far as to endorse Obama but said that Palin had yet to make a sufficient case for herself. When I went to offer my comments, the other commenters were vociferous in calling for her to be tossed off the pages of the WSJ. I tried to offer come to her defense, it's the least a gentleman can do, but comments were closed.

The Republican party of Bush/Cheney/Rove reminds me of the Communists under Mao when ideology trumped all. Smelt iron in the backyard to give power to the people even though the iron was lousy. Make the farms communal even though food production plummets. Clamp down on any press that doesn't agree with you.

And so we are back in 2008. Buckley, Noonan, who else? What kind of country have we become when you can't say what you think without consequences?